ASUS VivoBook (Q200E) SSD Upgrade Problems.

[ramzorz]

Okay, so I posted this on Neowin and I didn't get a solution, so I'm hoping you guys can help me out. I'm just going to copy and paste what my Neowin thread said and you guys can have a go at it.

Immediately after purchasing the Q200E, I swapped out the hard drive for an SSD. The BIOS reads the drive correctly as well as the USB device I'm using to install Windows, the only problem is that every time I start the PC, it goes directly into the BIOS. I changed the boot order and made two different USB bootable drives and tried different USB ports. Why isn't it booting to the USB drive?



EDIT: I'm using WinToFlash to make the USB bootable disk. I'm trying Power ISO at the moment to see if this program will work instead. AHCI is enabled for the SSD. If I swap the hard drive back in, Windows 8 boots up normal. I want to install Windows 7 on the SSD.

[CaptainSi]

Some motherboards simply don't support USB boot. While it's unlikely that such a modern board doesn't, why don't you try plugging the SSD into a desktop and installing an OS, then moving the drive back to the laptop? Generally the BIOS will return if a boot service can't be located. It can also happen with some motherboards that use Legacy USB, or a similar feature, so as a measure, try removing all extra USB devices, such as mice, keyboards, etc. Also, Microsoft has their own tool for USB installations - http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool. Even though it is labelled Windows 7, it does work with Windows 8. Best wishes!

[ramzorz]

Thanks for the link! I always prefer to use software straight from Microsoft. As for the possibility of not being compatible, I've seen others install SSDs to this model, but I'm not sure how they went about installing the OS. It might just be worth it to do as you said, installing the OS from a different computer. Should I not be worried about drivers when it comes to installing Windows 7 via the desktop? Either way, I'm going to attempt it now. There's nothing to lose and I've got time. :)

[killerx525]

When you install the OS on another desktop, don't install the drivers or do windows update.

[ramzorz]

Well I just got back from installing Widnows 7 on the SSD. As killerx525 mentioned, I did not go through the setup process and installed the SSD onto the Vivobook. No luck at all. I really don't know what going on. This is the oddest problem that I've ever come across and there is not much information at all for this specific computer.

[killerx525]

Wait the setup process?

[ramzorz]

Another note: At this point, I'm willing to install Windows 7 or 8... I might even say I prefer 8 because of the computer's touchscreen and all of the integration with my online accounts. Does anyone know a secure way of finding out my Windows 8 key? It doesn't have the key on the bottom of the PC like most computers do.

[ramzorz]

Wait the setup process?

Yes, as in when it asks you for the date and time, Windows key, naming the computer and other things.

[killerx525]

Do you still have a working and bootable copy of Windows 8?

[ramzorz]

The only copy I have of Windows 8 is the one that I have on the 500GB hard drive that came on the PC.

[killerx525]

Pop that in and follow the guide below.

pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/windows-8-product-key.htm

[ramzorz]

Got it. :) For some reason, the default one the article recommend didn't work, so I'll try the others. Meanwhile, where can I get a Windows 8 ISO? I don't like the idea of torrenting it. :I

[mvitkun]

you could install windows 7 on the hard drive with the desktop,make sure to write down the windows 8 product key.

then use this to upgrade it to windows 8

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only

then afterwards copy the contents of the HDD,windows,to the SSD and put the SSD back into the laptop.

otherwise you need an msdn subscription to download windows 8 from microsoft.

[ramzorz]

Well, I suppose that could work as for installing Windows 8, but that still doesn't solve my problem about the SSD not booting, otherwise, Windows 7 would have started fine since Windows 7 is already on the SSD.

[ramzorz]

Okay, after a bit of research, I've found out why I couldn't boot from either the USB drive or the SSD. Aptio Setup Utility, the BIOS is causing the problem. This problem is extremely complicated and It's not easy to fix, but I'm hoping you guys can help me.

In the BIOS, there's a section to make a boot path. The instructions to make the path are the following:

-Add boot option

-Select filesystem

-Path for boot option

-Create

The problem I'm having is that the BIOS won't let my select the USB drive or the SSD because I don't know the path to the SSD or USB drive.

I've found instructions online for the "Path for boot option" section. It says the same as the description; the path must be something along the lines of "\path\filename.efi\".

Any idea?

[MunsonedForLife]

I know this thread has been inactive for quite some time, but I am experiencing the same problem with the laptop.  Copied over to the SSD and the computer just boots to the BIOS everytime. 

[Patrick3D]

Sounds like a SecureBoot issue, have you tried disabling SecureBoot?

 

I found the following advice for how to do so in the Aptio utilty, not sure if it works since I don't have such a system myself:

1/ Select the Boot menu in the Aptio setup utility, select 'Launch CSM' and change to enable
2/ Select the Security menu n the Aptio setup utility, select 'secure Boot Control' and change to disable

3/ Reboot and go back into the BIOS to select your boot desired boot option